The Workshop · Sydney
The Alla Prima
Garden
An afternoon of high tea and floral painting in oils, in a private Sydney garden studio. Laid tables, loose-leaf tea, and a blank canvas waiting for you. No experience needed, and you leave with a framed original. Places are limited and dates are released to the waitlist first.
The afternoon
Three movements.
Arrive, and settle in.
The session opens at a laid table in the garden: finger sandwiches, warm macarons, seasonal preserves, and a selection of loose-leaf teas. Time to slow down before the first brushstroke.
Paint, petal by petal.
You will paint a full floral composition in oils in the alla prima style, wet-on-wet in a single sitting, for fresh, expressive brushwork. Your instructor guides you from the first mark to the last, at your own pace.
Leave with an original.
Your finished painting is framed and comes home with you the same day, along with, almost certainly, plans to return.
This is not a typical paint-and-sip evening. Even with no painting background, you will be guided through a complete floral composition in oils, step by step, working with professional materials in the quiet of a private garden. Alla prima, "at first attempt", is the technique the Impressionists loved: paint applied wet-on-wet in one sitting, so the work stays fresh, loose, and alive.
The Alla Prima Garden is booked privately for your own circle, groups of three to ten, which makes it a favourite for birthdays, celebrations, and long-overdue afternoons with friends. Every detail is taken care of: easels, oils, brushes, canvas, aprons, the tea table, and the framing. Bring nothing but yourselves.
Where Water Holds Light